Published: Monday, May 13, 2013 at 3:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, May 13, 2013 at 3:21 p.m.

Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn said Monday that the budget picture for next school year is shaping up to be dimmer than he had hoped it would be.

Although the Florida Legislature recently poured millions of dollars more into the local education budget for 2013-2014, Tomyn said he feared that it won't be enough to offset the shortfalls from previous years and pay for the rising costs of utilities and insurance, among other things.

And while he cautioned that it's too early to make any hard spending decisions for next year, he said the bleak budget estimates could force him to scrap his plan to bring back the art and music teachers who had been cut from the budget previously.

Tomyn said it appears the district will get $13 million more in state funding than it did for the current year. Although that sounds good, the district used $8 million in reserve funding this school year to make ends meet.

In 2013-14, which begins July 1, the district will not have those extra dollars to cushion the budget. That means the district will need $8 million of the new funding to just break even.

The district must also hold back $6.9 million for teacher performance bonuses, which was pushed by Gov. Rick Scott, for 2013-14. When you add those two numbers together, it comes to $14.9 million — $1.9 million more than what the district will get from the state.

Tomyn said that doesn't include the rising cost of utilities and insurance in 2013-14.

Tomyn said his original plan to add back all art and music teachers, as well as librarians, is now in doubt. In all, 17 educators — six in music, four in art and seven librarians — currently split their time at two schools. Tomyn had hoped the budget would grow enough to add back those positions.

Tomyn considers those positions essential and is now looking at creative ways to deliver those classes. Deputy Superintendent Rick Lankford has been meeting with those affected teachers and librarians to make the best plan to offer the programs in 2013-14.

Overall, the original staffing plan eliminated 47 district-level positions, most of which are currently vacant, and added 48 positions at 51 schools, primarily to help the district meet requirements of the class-size amendment.

With many of those proposed school-level additions in doubt, Tomyn will first look at reducing the number of vacant non-teaching positions. Tomyn has instructed principals not to fill positions identified in the staffing plan until a firm grip on the budget can be completed.

Tomyn said his staff still has a long way to go before making final decisions about filling those positions. The School Board and the district will hash out the final budget during summer workshops. The final budget must be passed at the first meeting in September. This year that is Sept. 9.

The school district isn't the only agency contending with a tight budget. The Marion County Sheriff's Office has made some staffing decisions of its own, and it decided to pull its two remaining Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officers out of the schools and put them on patrol.

Fred LaTorre, the Sheriff's Office chief deputy, said sheriff's officials decided that the program, which had already been downsized several years ago, no longer provided quality education to students.

LaTorre said the program once featured five deputies, all paid for by the Sheriff's Office. When the recession hit six years ago, then-Sheriff Ed Dean reduced the number of DARE officers to two.

LaTorre said Sheriff Chris Blair believes the deputies can better serve the community on patrol than making periodic appearances at schools.

Ocala police Chief Greg Graham said his agency will continue to fund DARE. Ocala police commit two officers, at a cost of about $80,000 before benefits, to the program.

Those police officers travel to about 10 public and 15 private elementary schools within the Ocala city limits.

Ocala police Sgt. Robbie Bonner, who oversees the program, said the officers also conduct anti-bullying classes and summer camps and fill in for school resource officers at middle school when needed.

"The chief is behind this program 100 percent," Bonner said.

Tomyn said he and Blair were at a recent luncheon when the sheriff told him of his plan to reassign the officers.

"He said he was going to put those deputies on the road," Tomyn said. The school system cannot make up the missing funding.

The news was disappointing to Sparr Elementary Principal Dawn Prestipino, who will become the new Legacy Elementary principal when the school opens in August.

Prestipino said the program, even in the watered-down version, is a valuable service that teaches children the dangers of drugs and peer pressure before they head off to middle school.

It is also a valuable resource for the Sheriff's Office, which actually gets some drug intelligence from students in those classes.

Prestipino said DARE officers are at her school one day a week for about 12 weeks during the year. For the remaining two-thirds of the year there is little DARE presence. The school just celebrated its most recent DARE graduation.

"Budget concerns affect everything," she said.

Prestipino said principals running elementary schools outside Ocala will have to figure out a way to provide a similar program for students.

Contact Joe Callahan at 867-4113 or joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter at JoeOcalaNews.

<p>Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn said Monday that the budget picture for next school year is shaping up to be dimmer than he had hoped it would be.</p><p>Although the Florida Legislature recently poured millions of dollars more into the local education budget for 2013-2014, Tomyn said he feared that it won't be enough to offset the shortfalls from previous years and pay for the rising costs of utilities and insurance, among other things.</p><p>And while he cautioned that it's too early to make any hard spending decisions for next year, he said the bleak budget estimates could force him to scrap his plan to bring back the art and music teachers who had been cut from the budget previously.</p><p>Tomyn said it appears the district will get $13 million more in state funding than it did for the current year. Although that sounds good, the district used $8 million in reserve funding this school year to make ends meet.</p><p>In 2013-14, which begins July 1, the district will not have those extra dollars to cushion the budget. That means the district will need $8 million of the new funding to just break even.</p><p>The district must also hold back $6.9 million for teacher performance bonuses, which was pushed by Gov. Rick Scott, for 2013-14. When you add those two numbers together, it comes to $14.9 million — $1.9 million more than what the district will get from the state.</p><p>Tomyn said that doesn't include the rising cost of utilities and insurance in 2013-14.</p><p>Tomyn said his original plan to add back all art and music teachers, as well as librarians, is now in doubt. In all, 17 educators — six in music, four in art and seven librarians — currently split their time at two schools. Tomyn had hoped the budget would grow enough to add back those positions.</p><p>Tomyn considers those positions essential and is now looking at creative ways to deliver those classes. Deputy Superintendent Rick Lankford has been meeting with those affected teachers and librarians to make the best plan to offer the programs in 2013-14.</p><p>Overall, the original staffing plan eliminated 47 district-level positions, most of which are currently vacant, and added 48 positions at 51 schools, primarily to help the district meet requirements of the class-size amendment.</p><p>With many of those proposed school-level additions in doubt, Tomyn will first look at reducing the number of vacant non-teaching positions. Tomyn has instructed principals not to fill positions identified in the staffing plan until a firm grip on the budget can be completed.</p><p>Tomyn said his staff still has a long way to go before making final decisions about filling those positions. The School Board and the district will hash out the final budget during summer workshops. The final budget must be passed at the first meeting in September. This year that is Sept. 9.</p><p>The school district isn't the only agency contending with a tight budget. The Marion County Sheriff's Office has made some staffing decisions of its own, and it decided to pull its two remaining Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officers out of the schools and put them on patrol.</p><p>Fred LaTorre, the Sheriff's Office chief deputy, said sheriff's officials decided that the program, which had already been downsized several years ago, no longer provided quality education to students.</p><p>LaTorre said the program once featured five deputies, all paid for by the Sheriff's Office. When the recession hit six years ago, then-Sheriff Ed Dean reduced the number of DARE officers to two.</p><p>LaTorre said Sheriff Chris Blair believes the deputies can better serve the community on patrol than making periodic appearances at schools.</p><p>Ocala police Chief Greg Graham said his agency will continue to fund DARE. Ocala police commit two officers, at a cost of about $80,000 before benefits, to the program.</p><p>Those police officers travel to about 10 public and 15 private elementary schools within the Ocala city limits.</p><p>Ocala police Sgt. Robbie Bonner, who oversees the program, said the officers also conduct anti-bullying classes and summer camps and fill in for school resource officers at middle school when needed.</p><p>"The chief is behind this program 100 percent," Bonner said.</p><p>Tomyn said he and Blair were at a recent luncheon when the sheriff told him of his plan to reassign the officers.</p><p>"He said he was going to put those deputies on the road," Tomyn said. The school system cannot make up the missing funding.</p><p>The news was disappointing to Sparr Elementary Principal Dawn Prestipino, who will become the new Legacy Elementary principal when the school opens in August.</p><p>Prestipino said the program, even in the watered-down version, is a valuable service that teaches children the dangers of drugs and peer pressure before they head off to middle school.</p><p>It is also a valuable resource for the Sheriff's Office, which actually gets some drug intelligence from students in those classes.</p><p>Prestipino said DARE officers are at her school one day a week for about 12 weeks during the year. For the remaining two-thirds of the year there is little DARE presence. The school just celebrated its most recent DARE graduation.</p><p>"Budget concerns affect everything," she said.</p><p>Prestipino said principals running elementary schools outside Ocala will have to figure out a way to provide a similar program for students.</p><p><i>Contact Joe Callahan at 867-4113 or joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter at JoeOcalaNews.</i></p>